Zimbra (not so) frequently asked questions

Answers to a few miscellaneous Zimbra questions:

• Why do the pictures/formatting disappear when I forward a message?
• I get an error notification from Thunderbird when I start up, but everything seems to work
• I saved a search from the web Client, but any changes I make to the search results from IMAP are undone
• Why can't I see all of my mail folders in Thunderbird? How do I subscribe to mail folders?
• How do I forward my e-mail to another address/account?
• Can I have the Calendar or Contacts tab open in stead of the Mail tab when I log in to Zimbra?
• Can I have Zimbra open in Standard (HTML) mode or Mobile mode?

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Why do the pictures/formatting disappear when I forward a message?

Because Zimbra sends plain text e-mail by default, when you forward messages containing HTML formatting, depending on how the message is formatted and the graphics are embedded, sometimes the formatting and/or graphics may be lost. You may need to experiment with the options to find the one that works for a particular message. After you click Forward, click on the Options button (in the Forward window) and choose "Format as HTML." The message will initially appear blank or show only your signature file. Click the Options button again and choose either "Include Original with Prefix" or "Include Original with Headers and Prefix." If neither of those work, you can use "Include Original as Attachment," which is reliable, but causes the recipients to have to go through an extra step to open it (it essentially becomes a message embedded in a message).

I get an error notification from Thunderbird when I start up, but everything seems to work.

There is a known bug in how Thunderbird is responding to Zimbra when Thunderbird asks Zimbra about shared mail folders. If you get a message like:

    The current command did not succeed. The server responded: LIST failed: wildcards are not permitted in username.

Then you can resolve it by forcing Thunderbird to only show you subscribed folders:

1. Go to Tools - Account Settings.
2. Under your Zimbra account, click on "Server Settings".
3. Click on the "Advanced" button.
4. Check "Show only subscribed folders".
5. Click OK - OK.
6. Quit and restart Thunderbird.

You may need to subscribe to your mail folders if you cannot see them after making this change.

I saved a search from the Web Client, but any changes I make to the search results from IMAP are undone.

Saved searches, which Zimbra exports as IMAP folders, are read-only folders via IMAP, and cannot be modified from an IMAP client. They can, however, be modified via the Web Client. This may be corrected in a future release of the Zimbra server software, so that IMAP clients can modify Saved Search folder contents in the same way as the Web Client.

Where are my other mail folders? How do I subscribe to mail folders?

Most IMAP clients allow you to "subscribe" to your mail folders, which allows you to select which folders from your account you see, and which are hidden from you. Clients which are known to currently support this feature are Thunderbird and Outlook. To subscribe to your mail folders:

Thunderbird: Right-click (control-click on Mac) the account name in the folder list, and select "Subscribe...". You will see a dialog box listing all your folders, with either a check mark or a dot next to them. Go through the folder list and add a check mark to folders you want to see by selecting the folder, and clicking the "Subscribe" button. Click "OK" when you are done.

Outlook: Go to Tools - IMAP Folders. You will see a dialog box for selecting which folders to display. Leave the "Display folders whose names contain" field empty, and click "Query". Select the folders you want to see and click "Subscribe". Click "OK" when you are finished.

Mac OS X Mail: Apple Mail does not currently support IMAP subscriptions, and will show you all folders available to your account automatically.

How do I forward my e-mail to another address/account?

In Zimbra, go to Preferences – Mail, and under "Forward a copy to," enter your forwarding address in the box. Check the "Don't keep a local copy of messages" box, then click the Save button on the menu bar in the upper left.

Can I have the Calendar or Contacts tab open instead of the Mail tab when I log in to Zimbra?

To do this, you just need to use a special URL (web address), which you can bookmark for convenience if you wish:

To log in to Zimbra and open the calendar, go to: https://zimbra.snc.edu/zimbra/?app=calendar

To log in to Zimbra and open contacts, go to: https://zimbra.snc.edu/zimbra/?app=contacts

Can I have Zimbra open in Standard (HTML) mode or Mobile mode?

To do so, you just need to use one of the following URLs (web addresses), which you can bookmark for convenience if you wish:

Standard (HTML) mode - Mail	https://zimbra.snc.edu/zimbra/h/
Standard (HTML) mode - Contacts	https://zimbra.snc.edu/zimbra/h/search?st=contact
Standard (HTML) mode - Calendar	https://zimbra.snc.edu/zimbra/h/search?st=calendar
Mobile mode - Mail	https://zimbra.snc.edu/zimbra/m/
Mobile mode - Contacts	https://zimbra.snc.edu/zimbra/m/mainx?st=ab
Mobile mode - Calendar	https://zimbra.snc.edu/zimbra/m/mainx?st=cal